There is no denying that residents of Walnut Ridge are fed up with the poor USPS delivery service in their area, and they made that clear to Representative Rick Crawford’s staff
Wednesday at city hall.
Crawford’s staff were in town for an on-site visit where they offer the community an
opportunity to stop by and get help with a federal agency or voice their concerns about
issues happening in congress.
“Walnut Ridge residents have been expressing their frustrations for years to us about the poor mail delivery service,” said Michelle Thompson, assistant to Walnut Ridge Mayor Charles Snapp. “They often come by city hall or reach out to the mayor by phone
and ask him for help.”
The main USPS complaints were about the mail showing up weeks late, incoming bills
not being received by their payment due dates, and people incurring late fees.
C. L. Clark, owner of Clark General Contractors, Inc., said each month his business receives bills that are already past due, and is often hit with late fees, which can be costly. “If I ran my business like the USPS, we would be out of business,” said Clark.
As the congressman’s staff was meeting with other constituents, a gentleman came into city hall to renew his privilege license that was due October 1st. Sherrie Mitchell, senior
casework manager for Crawford said, “I overheard him tell the clerk that he was renewing in person because he didn’t trust the mail to deliver his renewal in time, and he believes he
often doesn’t receive his mail.”
According to Crawford’s office the USPS mail service has steadily deteriorated to the point where Crawford is seeking the community’s assistance in resolving the issue.
He is requesting anyone that is experiencing delayed mail to contact his office at (870) 203-0540, and his staff will guide residents through the process of what his office needs from them to proceed. Most mail pieces have postmarks and barcodes that provide critical data that will
help the USPS identify systemic problems delaying the mail process.
Crawford hopes that with robust community participation helping gather information to send to USPS leadership, we will be one step closer to receiving our mail in a timely manner.